Blood, Guts, and Grease: George S. Patton in World War I

by Jon B. Mikolashek, Paul T. Mikolashek (Foreword by)

Overview

George S. Patton is one of the most controversial, celebrated, and popular military leaders in American history, and his accomplishments and victories have been greatly documented. Yet Patton spent years in the Army before garnering national attention and becoming a highly-regarded and respected military leader. This work explores Patton's beginnings as a driven and intrepid soldier and his battles leading up to the Great War—military experiences which would be influential in his development as a commander.

Drawing upon Patton's papers and archival documents in the National Archives, this is an early-career biography of the eminent military leader. It begins with his exploits as a relatively junior but ambitious Army officer who, due to his family's wealth and influence, was able to join General John J. Pershing's American Expeditionary Force (AEF). This assignment would ultimately change his life in two ways: it would make Pershing the mentor Patton would emulate for the rest of his life, and it would catapult his military career as the first tanker in the US Army.

This study follows Patton's trajectory, from the creation of the Tank Corps and the Light Tank School, to Patton's eventual successes and injuries during the Battle of Saint Mihiel, the attack into Pannes, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Revealed is that the experience Patton gained in World War I was seminal in his evolvement as a leader and laid the groundwork for not only his own personal future triumphs but also for the success of the entire United States Army armored forces in World War II.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813177908
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	09/09/2019
Series:	American Warriors Series
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jon B. Mikolashek is associate professor of history at the United States Army Command and General Staff College and American Military University. He is the author of General Mark Clark: Commander of U.S. Fifth Army and Liberator of Rome and coauthor of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM: 2002-2005.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Off to Paris: Here Come the Americans
Land Crabs, Land Ironclads, Landships: The Tank
The Tank Master: Patton and the Tank Center
Combat: St. Mihiel
The True Test: The Meuse-argonne Offensive
The Spoils of War: Rest, Recovery, and Peace
The War after the War: The Fight for the United States Tank Corp
Conclusion

What People are Saying About This

Vincent P. Mikkelsen

"This important work is not only an origin of a legend but the account of a man who becomes a leader, an experiment that becomes the weapon, and a conflict gaining deserved new attention a century after it ended."

Ed Coss

"Mikolashek's fine work is built around a careful investigation of George Patton's original papers, and because of this, the reader will discover fundamental relationships, events, and insights from his World War I days that begin to shape the soldier he became in World War II."

Thomas Bruscino

"Blood, Guts, and Grease ably fills in an all-too-forgotten period in George Patton's crowded life. What emerges is an enigmatic, mercurial, ambitious, and sometimes egotistical young officer, but one who was also devoted to cause, country, and mission, inspirational to his men, and brilliant and brave in combat.  No one can really understand the Patton of World War II until they know about the man who fought through the First World War. "

From the Publisher

" Blood, Guts, and Grease ably fills in an all-too-forgotten period in George Patton's crowded life. What emerges is an enigmatic, mercurial, ambitious, and sometimes egotistical young officer, but one who was also devoted to cause, country, and mission, inspirational to his men, and brilliant and brave in combat. No one can really understand the Patton of World War II until they know about the man who fought through the First World War." -- Thomas Bruscino, US Army War College

"Mikolashek's fine work is built around a careful investigation of George Patton's original papers, and because of this, the reader will discover fundamental relationships, events, and insights from his World War I days that begin to shape the soldier he became in World War II." -- Ed Coss, US Army Command and General Staff College

"This important work is not only an origin of a legend but the account of a man who becomes a leader, an experiment that becomes the weapon, and a conflict gaining deserved new attention a century after it ended." -- Vincent P. Mikkelsen, American Military University

Editorial Reviews

Countless biographies have been written about George S. Patton Jr. Unfortunately most pay only little attention to Patton's World War I experiences, which were the bedrock of his successful command of a corps and two field armies in World War II. Jon B. Mikolashek's Blood, Guts and Grease: George S. Patton in World War I fills that void with his detailed and insightful examination of this seminal period of Patton's career.

ARMOR Magazine

Blood, Guts, and Grease deserves to be read...because it sheds light on the complex personality that has been, in many ways, masked by the legend that emerged during World War II and has grown since.

Col. Gregory Fontenot

As Mikolashek successfully argues in this incisive biography, truly understanding Patton the general officer, legendary for his World War II victories, requires knowing how his Great War experiences helped prepare him for those epic campaigns.

Journal of Military History

Blood, Guts, and Grease ably fills in an all-too-forgotten period in George Patton's crowded life. What emerges is an enigmatic, mercurial, ambitious, and sometimes egotistical young officer, but one who was also devoted to cause, country, and mission, inspirational to his men, and brilliant and brave in combat. No one can really understand the Patton of World War II until they know about the man who fought through the First World War. 

Thomas Bruscino

This important work is not only an origin of a legend but the account of a man who becomes a leader, an experiment that becomes the weapon, and a conflict gaining deserved new attention a century after it ended.

Vincent P. Mikkelsen

Mikolashek's fine work is built around a careful investigation of George Patton's original papers, and because of this, the reader will discover fundamental relationships, events, and insights from his World War I days that begin to shape the soldier he became in World War II.

Ed Coss

" Blood, Guts, and Grease deserves to be read...because it sheds light on the complex personality that has been, in many ways, masked by the legend that emerged during World War II and has grown since." — Col. Gregory Fontenot, ARMY Magazine

From the Publisher